Goodness of Elf Louise a reminder of the goodness inside us all

As a child, Louise Locker found magic in the flight of birds, the picking of four-leaf clovers, the smell of freshly mowed grass and the twinkling of stars as her mother told stories about the constellations.

It was her mother, Anne Locker, who taught her to see magic in everything, whether it was Christmas, for which they’d prepare by making homemade decorations, or people.

When she was 7 and in the grocery store with her mother, Louise would sneak away to wander down the aisles and say hello to everyone. People would smile, wave back, talk with her.

She’d tell her mother, “Can you imagine if everybody knew the potential for goodness inside of them and they acted upon it, how different the world will be?”

That faith in strangers became the foundation on which she created the Elf Louise Christmas Project to deliver Christmas gifts to children who otherwise wouldn’t receive any. It was a faith fulfilled through people who found the goodness within themselves to make it possible for 1.5 million San Antonio children to receive gifts for 50 years.

That sense of magic and faith in people Locker had at 7 is stronger now that she’s 70 and eager to pursue “new and soulful callings.” So, the woman whose name is synonymous with Christmas in San Antonio is stepping away from the nationally known organization that bears her name.

In a letter sent Friday afternoon to the Elf Louise board of directors, volunteers and supporters, Locker announced her retirement.

A breast cancer survivor, Locker wants it clear her health is not the reason for her retirement. She’s in good health, and it’s the good health of the Elf Louise

Christmas Project, with its 5,000 volunteers, that makes this the right time.

“This project is in such good hands,” she said. “So many people have made it their own. I’m excited by the next important thing I need to be doing. There’s other things I need to do. Some I know. Some I don’t.”

A licensed therapist, Locker said her counseling has taken on deeper importance and urgency these days. Besides enjoying being a grandmother, she’s writing a memoir and working on other projects, all inspired by looking for the good in people, because “everybody’s got this potential.”

The origins of Elf Louise are San Antonio lore. Locker was a Trinity University student when, a few days before Christmas 1969, inspired by watching late night talk-show host Johnny Carson read children’s letters to Santa, she went to the post office and asked to see letters to Santa. She read through hundreds before seeing this one:

Dear Santa,

I know the only reason you’ve never visited me before is because we’ve never written. Won’t you please visit us? We’ve never had a Christmas tree. Please bring us a tree, a doll, some toy cars for my brothers and bring mom a bible and please don’t get lost.

Anna

Virginia O’Hanlon, who inspired the famous, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial in 1897, was a child needing reassurance of Santa’s existence. Anna was a child needing to reassure Santa of her existence.

Locker chose Anna’s letter and 12 others representing 65 children and 200 requests for presents.

She and her mother gathered items from around their house to give, and she secured help from friends and strangers she approached in Earl Abel’s Restaurant.

Media personality and Ticket 760 sports talk host Chris Duel has been friends with Locker since working on the Elf Louise Radiothon on 1200 WOAI in the mid-’90s.

“I remember being struck by her infectious positive spirit and the way she lights up a room when she walks in,” Duel said. “She represents the best each of us can be.”

In the early years, Locker tried to be anonymous. A newspaper reporter dubbed her “Elf Louise.” She’s now one of the city’s most iconic figures, used to adults telling her she came to their houses when they were children.

In 2018, I drove her to Port San Antonio, where volunteers came to collect the toys they would later deliver. She wanted to hear stories without anyone knowing who she was. But while talking to members of Guardians of the Children, a motorcycle club protecting victims of child abuse, a passerby shouted out her name.

The biker she was talking to asked, “You’re Elf Louise? THE

Elf Louise?”

When Locker smiled and nodded, all the bikers wanted their pictures taken with her. It was like that all morning.

For more than 50 years, she’s used the magic of Christmas to remind us of our capacity to do good. Christmas isn’t going anywhere, and neither is Elf Louise.

She’ll be using other forms of magic to discover, in her words, “Whose heart is open? Whose heart is touched?”

“This project is in such good hands. So many people have made it their own. I’m excited by the next important thing I need to be doing. There’s other things I need to do.”

Louise Locker, as she steps down from the Elf Louise Christmas Project

Cary Clack / Staff As a child, Louise Locker had faith in strangers — and her program that spreads Christmas joy proves her right. Left, a member of the Guardians of the Children snaps a photo with Elf Louise, center.